AFTON HISTORIAN

Historical Society Museum Hours: SUMMER HOURS Mid May to Mid Oct. Wednesday 1:00-8:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00-4:00 p.m. WINTER HOURS October to Mid May Wednesday 1:00-8:00 p.m. For information or to schedule a tour, please contact us Stop by for a cup of coffee and learn more about your community’s past. Hand Woven Rugs for sale: Hand woven rugs are for sale at the museum. Rug sales fund necessities for the museum such as telephone, electricity, natural gas, etc. Please keep these rugs in mind when looking for a gift or a new rug for your own home.	Afton Historical Society Holiday Dinner Mark your calendar for the Historical Society’s Annual Dinner to be held at Memorial Lutheran Church on Thursday, January 15, 2009. More information and a reservation form will be sent out in December. We look forward to seeing you at this annual event. One More Pick-Up Game for the Season Sunday, October 12, 2:00 p.m. The Afton Red Socks base ball team will have one more pick-up game for this season at Pettit Park located on St Croix Trail in Lake St. Croix Beach. Come and try your hand at the four elements of vintage base ball; 1. striking (hitting) 2. throwing 3. catching 4 running Note: We require two out of the four. Join the fun. If not October 12, then we’ll see you next spring! Welcome New Historical Society Members Jay Thrall Family Steven Swanson Family Richard Diedrich Family Harold and Laura Berglund Please help the Museum by joining the families listed above and become a member. Membership dues are a major source of funds to maintain and operate the museum. Call the museum for more information. Become a Member Go to our Join page!	Victorian Holiday Crafts at the Historical Museum The museum continues its tradition of offering Victorian holiday crafts and refreshments to the public. Many past guests remember these holiday festivities as a delightful and rewarding winter experience. Friday, Dec. 5, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, 12:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, 12:00-4:00 p.m. This annual event is free, but donations are always welcome. Remember, the aprons and handloomed rugs available at the museum make great holiday gifts. Tour of Historic Fahlstrom Cemetery The Afton Historical Museum will present a free tour of Fahlstrom Cemetery narrated by historian Ken Martens October 12 at 2:00 p.m. The cemetery is located off Indian Trail on Fahlstrom Place in Afton. Call the Museum at 651- 436-3500 or Ken Martens at 651- 353-7195 for more information. Afton Historical Society Officers and Board  President: Stan Ross Vice President: Sue Biagini Secretary: Kris Haslund Treasurer: Laurel Ross Office Manager: Carol Brotzler Board Members: Lee/Ellen Johnson Ken Martens Judy Steltzner Doug Stolzmann Mike Thoemke
Afton Red Socks - 2008 Season The Afton Red Socks recruited heavily this season, and have a roster now of 21 people. As the Vikings and Twins usually say, “It was a re-building year.” We played new teams, had some successes, and, as always, had a lot of fun along the way. We appreciate all the “cranks” (fans) who came out to watch us, and hope everyone will check the museum web site for our 2009 schedule of games. Three major highlights were; • Participation in the Vintage Base Ball Festival June 28 and 29 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, as part of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial celebration, • An exhibition game against the Quick Steps on September 1 at Minnesota River Heritage Park (formerly Historic Murphy's Landing), and • A demonstration game on September 13 with School District 197 administrators, coaches and alumnae, as part of the 150th anniversary of West St. Paul's school district. At the Vintage Festival, there were eight teams participating, from as far away as Indianapolis. We played six games in two days. The Red Socks won two and tied one on Saturday, and lost three on Sunday. We played on three diamonds set up in an open field, using straw bales for team benches and for the back-stop. We are indebted to the St. Croix's and the Washington County Historical Society for playing a major role in planning, organizing, and coordinating this event. The Quicksteps won the Murphy's landing game. The School District 197 demonstration was an exciting, hard fought teaching/learning experience. Five Red Socks and five Quicksteps players teamed to provide background, rules review, and on the spot training to a fired-up group of “trainees”, comprised of coaches, administrators, teachers and alumnae from the West St. Paul area and District 197. We got an early four run lead and watched it deteriorate over the last several innings as the “trainees” mastered first fielding, then hitting, the rules, and base running. The final score was 6-4. It was great, great fun. Thanks West St. Paul! Anytime you want another “lesson”, we told them, just give us a call.
A Twist of Fate  It's a wonder how destiny plants us in one place or another. Many years ago, August 11, 1940 to be exact, I had my very first taste of Afton. It so happened that my Uncle Edwin Schmidt was pastor of St. Peter's Church on Neal Avenue and our family was invited to join in the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Celebration of that church's very first building. Seven of us crammed into the 1931 Chevrolet to make the journey from Faribault, where we lived on a farm, to the Afton countryside. When I say “journey”, it was indeed that because, first of all we never ever went more than ten miles from our home; and secondly, in those days with most roads graveled and the reluctance of the Chevrolet to attain any appreciable speed it took quite a long time to get from one place to another. Our “trip” did take us through Hastings and going over the circular bridge was very exciting and I remember it to this day. My concern, however, was that my new dress would be mussed in the crowded car. I was eight years old and it was my first “store bought” dress (rather than a hand-me-down from my sisters). Time spent at that celebration is sketchy in my mind but I do remember the brick church with the raised pulpit from which my uncle spoke and I remember chairs and tables set up outside where people congregated to enjoy the mountains of food and to visit with one another. I also remember there was a piano wheeled out to the embankment to provide accompaniment for my aunt as she sang Joyce Kilmer's “Trees”. I was enthralled by the festivities, the graciousness of the people, the aroma of the food and the beauty of the summer day. AND, how was I to know over forty years in the future I would be living with my remarkable Swedish husband in our home less than four miles away! When I look back now, I wish I'd had the opportunity at that time to show my dad the beauty of the area where I would one day live. I would have taken him to the site of my future home, which was farmland at that time, and show him the fields of corn and grain growing sturdily in the summer sunshine; I knew his farmer's heart would swell at that sight. Then I would bring him to the village of Afton to point out the location where my husband, Harold, would work for almost ten years as a young man. Next, I would direct my dad's attention to the blacksmith shop as well as the Afton Hotel, Selma's Ice Cream Parlor and other unique shops. While in that area he could see the shoreline of the impressive St. Croix River and I would watch him enjoy the panorama of sparkling water with the Wisconsin horizon in the background. He would not be prepared for the awesome visual gift of a sunrise in that glorious setting! In the resplendence of that sight, he would turn to me and say, “Child, you have chosen well” and I would cherish that thought because his eyes would never see me as an adult; his life was cut short a mere four years later. Living in the St. Croix Valley is, I believe, a privilege and I shall never tire of the gracious people who inhabit the area, nor will I stop giving thanks for the “Twist of Fate” that brought me here to a enjoy a full and satisfying life in this peaceful St. Croix Valley. Laura W. Berglund Copyright 2008		Thank you to the Family of Dave Robb for a memorial donation and for the special artifacts used to create the memorial located at the museum. Thanks to John Young for donating unique shoemaker lasts to the museum’s collections. Thanks to PressEnter for continued gratis support of our website over the years. Thanks to Harold Berglund for a Swede Hill School publication and many valuable Afton newspapers. Thanks to Laura Berglund for writing wonderful stories for the Historian. Special thanks to our volunteers who keep staffing the museum for the visitors and who keep the spirit of the Historical Society alive! Thanks to Stan Ross for arranging for the purchase of an A-frame sign to place in front of the museum on the day of an event.